About this course
Learn to tell stories through costumes.
This specialist degree focuses on developing both your costume design and costume construction skills. You will learn how to translate your creative ideas into professional costumes for theatre, film and television, dance, opera and other performance areas. You will also have the opportunity to explore a range of relevant skills: corsetry, pattern cutting, draping, tailoring, millinery, costume props, fabric knowledge, textile breaking down, print and dye and other emerging technologies. Our aim on the course is to create future-facing professionals, who are industry relevant, work collaboratively, and are outward-facing autonomous practitioners.
-
You’ll have the opportunity to complete a work experience placement of up to a year in length. Dependent on the duration of your placement, you could gain an additional Diploma or Certificate in Professional Practice. -
Visit design exhibitions at venues like the V&A in London and the National Theatre costume department. You will also have the opportunity to go on national and European trips to see opera, ballet, theatre and dance performances. -
You’ll be able to personalise your studies by choosing from a range of up to eight optional modules. Your course also includes our School-wide, sector-leading Co Lab module.
20
What you’ll study
Develop the skills you need to become a versatile costume designer and expert in mixed-media construction. You will study subjects exploring visual research, character and text analysis, contemporary design development and innovative 2D to 3D realisation. Explore such skills as corsetry, pattern cutting, tailoring, millinery, costume props, fabric knowledge, and print and dye. You'll learn how to interpret a brief and work with a creative team to create unique and bespoke costume designs.
As a costume student you will collaborate with students across our Design for Performance courses, as you personalise your learning journey and tailor your skills to meet your career aspirations in this exciting global industry.
There is an opportunity for students to undertake a placement year, and transfer to the Sandwich route, please see further details in the ‘Year Three’ section below.
Welcome to Costume
(40 credit points)
The start of your journey into exploring what Costume Design and Construction can be for you. Become familiar with tutors, peer groups, buildings, the department and equipment around you.
The module focuses on how to be curious, engage with new ideas in a safe space, take risks and make mistakes as a creative practitioner. You will be engaging with industry-level projects to support building your confidence and awareness of what costume is and possible future paths.
Questioning Costume
(40 credit points)
Combine practice and theory in order to create the foundations of your approach to your studies in costume. Begin your preparation towards your future career within contemporary stage and screen-related related fields you make designs and projects for a range of genres, based on real situations and industry practice.
Skills Passport
(20 credit points)
Establish and build on your knowledge of key professional costume practices as you understand the concepts of safe professional practice. Through exploration of a range of materials and processes, you will build relevant skills and develop your practical knowledge base, while allowing flexibility for personal direction and acquiring an understanding of industry needs.
Sustainability in Context
(20 credit points)
Discover the many aspects of being a sustainable practitioner in today's cultural landscape. You will look at sustainability through a wide range of lenses from different cultures, genders and perspectives. You will develop skills to research visually, verbally and in writing, as you begin to personalise your creative future through completing the Sustainability in Practice Certificate and negotiating your outcome based on your selected sustainable research.
Costume Exploration
(40 credit points)
Build on your knowledge of costume practice and theory to develop your investigative and experimental approaches. You will operate in situations of increasing complexity and depth and be encouraged to interpret characterisation challenges in 2D and 3D critically and imaginatively, aligning theory with practice and advancing your subject knowledge, understanding and practical skills.
Costume Direction
(40 credit points)
Develop and expand on your first-year studies and what Costume Design and Construction could be for you. Through further exploration of physical and digital media over the module you will expand and strengthen your approaches and effective visual communication within an industry context. You will be encouraged to question the development of your ideas using professional performance contexts and industry projects.
OR
Industry Placement
(40 credit points)
Refine your personal direction and career aspirations with a professional placement to prepare you for entry into the performance/cultural industries. This will take you out into industry to extend the development of your professional practice. You will be expected to document this experience, bringing back your knowledge and sharing it with your peers as part of a presentation at the end of the module.
Co Lab: Research, Exploration and Risk-taking
(20 credit points)
Through active participation with team-based problem-solving, you will work together in mixed teams on a project where you will use your creative ideas to generate solutions to the challenge or brief. Your project will allow you to explore how creativity can make an impact in society, as you choose a theme of sustainability, social justice, enterprise and innovation or community. This collaborative learning experience will expose you to a range of new processes and approaches that will develop your creative thinking.
Optional module
(20 credit points)
You will also choose one module from below:
- Slow Making and Craftmanship
- Millinery: Object and Narrative
- Character Ideation
- Tabletop Game Development
- Drawing & Exploring with Natural Materials
- Fashion Photography: Cover Shoot
- Interactive Narrative
- Prop Making
Optional Placement Year (Sandwich)
We have an option for all of our students to undertake a placement year (Sandwich) and allow you to decide whether this is right for you once you have completed years 1 and 2 of your course. This time spent working in industry provides our students with crucial work experience, which is highly prized and much sought after by employers upon graduation. If you are successful in securing a placement you will have the chance to gain an additional Certificate or Diploma in Professional Practice, dependent on duration.
The additional placement year incurs a fee. For international students considering the transfer to the 4-yr SW route it’s important to seek advice from the International Student Support team and the Home Office regarding any potential visa implications and costs. For UK students, advice should also be sought regarding SLC eligibility, if applicable.
* If you choose to take the sandwich route option, you will still need to apply for this course with the full-time UCAS code: W451
Industry Project
(40 credit points)
Define and refine your personal direction and career aspirations as you prepare yourself for entry into the performance/cultural industries. Through advanced personal practice, teaching and industry guidance you will develop your autonomy and independent costume career. The module will build your skills in engaging and responding to an industry-led project. These exchanges and approaches will echo professional working practices and facilitate both personal growth and transferable and practical skills acquisition.
Next Steps - Professional Practice
(20 credit points)
Through studio practice, professional practice, external speakers, presentations and staff guidance you will prepare your portfolio for your next steps. This module is a culmination of your undergraduate study and will build on previous portfolio iterations that you have developed. You will engage in a reflective, flexible and responsive exchange that echoes professional working practices as you gather feedback and analyse the most effective professional practice output for you.
Major Project - Costume Design and Construction
(60 credit points)
Embark on a self-directed project where you will combine studio practice, autonomous research and staff guidance to present a body of work that represents your chosen genre and professional working practices, and will respond to your goals and aspirations post-degree. You will research in a manner appropriate for this level, exploring the wider cultural, sustainable, ethical and genre-appropriate considerations.
We regularly review and update our course content based on student and employer feedback, ensuring that all of our courses remain current and relevant. This may result in changes to module content or module availability in future years.
Video Gallery
How you're taught
On this course, you will spend your time in creative studio environments. Teaching and learning experiences will include:
- studio days
- presentations
- independent projects
- demonstrations
- research
- reflective journals
- lectures
- seminars
- tutorials
- study visits.
Co Lab
Want real-world experience alongside your degree? Co Lab is your opportunity to work with peers from different disciplines on live projects set by industry partners. Embrace collaborative practice as you explore how creativity can make an impact in society and develop the skills employers want to see in the creative industries.
Exchange opportunities
If you’re thinking about studying part of your degree abroad, the course has exchange agreements with a number of institutions around the world.
Exchanges take place in Year Two of the course. You’ll receive guidance from the University about where you can study, and help in completing your application and arranging your exchange.
Showcase
You will be given the opportunity to exhibit your work during your time at NTU to members of the creative industries. Visit our ‘We Are Creatives’ showcase to take a look at the work of this year's graduating students’.
Careers and employability
Graduate destinations have included costume designing and / or construction for prestigious companies such as Angels Costumiers and the BBC, and freelance or in-house costume designing, making and assisting for a myriad of stage and screen companies, events and performances both large-scale and small-scale. These include everything from Outlander to Not Just Fish & Ships, Lichfield Garrick Pantomime to wardrobe on a cruise ship, and making props on the latest Marvel feature.
Connecting with industry
Live projects or competitions could offer you the chance to gain professional experience and raise your profile. Organisations and programmes the course has collaborated with include:
- Making Costumes for the Curve, Leicester
- Working at Lichfield Garrick Theatre on Cinderella
- Working with Bruce Asbestos and Nottingham Contemporary on live art catwalk
You’ll also be encouraged to participate in national competitions and costume events, seeking out opportunities to work with local cultural centres.
Industry experts who have recently lectured on this course include:
- television costume designer, Debbie O’Brien
- specialist costume designer / maker, Ivo Coveney
- Downton Abbey costume cutter, Sarah Humphrey
- Society of British Theatre Designers Chair, Fiona Watt
Creative Industries Federation
We are members of the Creative Industries Federation (CIF), which means students in the Nottingham School of Art & Design have the opportunity to sign up to free student membership. Creative Industries Federation are an organisation that represents, champions and supports the UK’s creative industries and membership grants students exclusive access to their selection of resources and events to help advance your career and connect with industry.
What our students are doing now
Lord of Darkness costume reimagined into eight-foot creation
An eight-foot-tall reimagining of a costume for horror character Darkness, from the 80’s cult film Legend, has been created by a Nottingham Trent University student, complete with a demon head and dramatic horns.
Student recreates iconic Lord Byron costume for 200 year anniversary
Campus and facilities
You’ll be based in the Waverley building – a beautifully restored listed building with real design heritage: it was the original home of the Nottingham School of Art. View our Nottingham School of Art & Design Facilities Hub here.
Entry requirements
UK students
- Standard offer: 112 UCAS Tariff points from up to four qualifications
- Contextual offer: 104 UCAS Tariff points from up to four qualifications
Other requirements
To find out what qualifications have tariff points, please use our tariff calculator.
Additional requirements for UK students
There are no additional requirements for this course.
Contextual offers
If you don’t quite meet our entry requirements, we might be able to make you a lower offer based on a range of factors, including your background (such as where you live and the school or college you attended), your experiences and your individual circumstances (you may have been in care, for example). This is called a contextual offer, and we get data from UCAS to help make these decisions. We do this because we believe everyone with the potential to succeed at NTU should have the opportunity to do so, no matter what barriers you may face.
Meeting our entry requirements
Hundreds of qualifications in the UK have UCAS Tariff points attached to specific grades, including A-levels, BTECs, T Levels and many more. You can use your grades and points from up to four different qualifications to meet our criteria. Enter your predicted or achieved grades into our Tariff calculator to find out how many points your qualifications are worth.
Other qualifications and experience
NTU welcomes applications from students with non-standard qualifications and learning backgrounds, either for year one entry or for advanced standing beyond the start of a course into year 2 or beyond.
We consider study and/or credit achieved from a similar course at another institution (otherwise known as credit transfer), vocational and professional qualifications, and broader work or life experience.
Our Recognition of Prior Learning and Credit Transfer Policy outlines the process and options available for this route. If you wish to apply via Recognition of Prior Learning, please contact the central Admissions and Enquiries Team who will be able to support you through the process.
Getting in touch
If you need more help or information, get in touch through our enquiry form.
International students
Academic entry requirements: 112 UCAS Tariff points from up to four qualifications. We accept equivalent qualifications from all over the world. Please check your international entry requirements by country.
Other requirements
English language requirements: See our English language requirements page for requirements for your subject and information on alternative tests and Pre-sessional English.
Additional requirements for international students
If you need help achieving the academic entry requirements, we offer a Foundation preparation course for this degree. The course is offered through our partner Nottingham Trent International College (NTIC) based on our City campus.
English language requirements
View our English language requirements for all courses, including alternative English language tests and country qualifications accepted by the University.
If you need help achieving the language requirements, we offer a Pre-Sessional English for Academic Purposes course on our City campus which is an intensive preparation course for academic study at NTU.
Other qualifications and experience
If you have the right level of qualifications, you may be able to start your Bachelors degree at NTU in year 2 or year 3. This is called ‘advanced standing’ entry and is decided on a case-by case basis after our assessment of your qualifications and experience.
You can view our Recognition of Prior Learning and Credit Transfer Policy which outlines the process and options available, such as recognising experiential learning and credit transfer.
Sign up for emails
Sign up to receive regular emails from the International Office. You'll hear about our news, scholarships and any upcoming events in your country with our expert regional teams.
Getting in touch
If you need advice about studying at NTU as an international student or how to apply, our international webpages are a great place to start. If you have any questions about your study options, your international qualifications, experience, grades or other results, please get in touch through our enquiry form. Our international teams are highly experienced in answering queries from students all over the world.
Policies
We strive to make our admissions procedures as fair and clear as possible. To find out more about how we make offers, visit our admissions policies page.
